From pelicans to barn owls, raccoons to beavers, Pacific Wildlife Care has seen it all. It treats and releases more than 3,000 critters back into the wild each year.
But according to Executive Director Kristin Howland, its building is “falling down” around them.
Thanks to $11.7 million in donations, construction recently broke ground on Aug. 18 to provide the wildlife rehabilitation center a new home near the San Luis Obispo County Airport.
Howland called Pacific Wildlife Care a “grassroots effort,” started in 2006 by a group of volunteers that would rescue injured or sick wildlife, nurse them back to health in their homes, then return them to their natural habitat.
“Pelicans in bathtubs, and things in closets and such like that,” she said.
Aside from big game animals like deer and elk, or mountain lions and bears, Howland said the organization takes in all other wildlife.
Right now, the rehab center operates in Morro Bay, leasing a building at the old power plant—the same spot that Vistra once had its eyes on to build a battery storage facility earlier this year.
“We kind of saw the writing on the wall that not only did we need to find a permanent home for our organization and for our animal hospital, but also something that was more accessible to the whole county since we do service wildlife throughout San Luis Obispo County. So we wanted to be centrally located,” she said.
The new building on Buckley Road is being constructed from the ground up.
“We are on [agriculture] land. It used to be a hayfield. It actually was a hayfield up until a few months ago,” Howland said.
The building itself will cost $7 million, while the remaining $4.7 million raised will go toward operating costs.
“It’s an expensive project, and that’s partially because of what we do, but it’s also partially because of where we were able to build our facility,” she said. “Because of what we do, we have to make sure that the water is safe for animals. … We have a full water treatment facility. The land that we have that we’re building on does not have access to city water and sewer. Then we have the well on the property and we have to treat it for the PFAS contamination that’s in that whole area due to the airport.”
Construction should take about 18 months, but in the meantime, the Morro Bay location remains fully operational for animal drop off and care.
In 2024, Pacific Wildlife Care treated 3,115 birds, mammals, and reptiles. This year it’s already treated 2,400 after recently wrapping up “baby season.”
“Last year we had a significant, crazy baby season. And I think that could be attributed to storms and just huge weather changes,” she said.
In addition to the birds, Howland said they see a lot of baby raccoons, which are long-term residents.
“Raccoons do stay with us the longest,” Howland said. “Young raccoons naturally stay with their mothers for almost a year. When we raise orphaned raccoons, they may remain with a homecare volunteer for nearly that long, with minimal interaction to ensure they learn independence.” Δ
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 7, 2025.